Principle of Proportions
It's one crystal mana for every minute you want to speak dear. Which part of that were you having difficulty understanding?
Iñes i GuerraThe Principle
The Principle of Proportions states that if a magician wishes to speak before the Conclave, they must bequeath a mana crystal to be added to the Conclave vaults for every minute they speak.
Application
The Conclave do not employ a Speaker like the Imperial Senate. Instead they use the principle of proportions to keep a Conclave session from overrunning. The principle is intended to allow magicians to be fully in control of their own meetings, without fear that any individual will abuse the goodwill of their fellows by speaking for too long.
Only crystal mana can be used to make a payment under the principle of proportions, whether it is speaking or raising an item to the agenda for a Conclave session. Exotic forms of mana (such as those gained from dealing with eternals), money, or raw materials cannot be used. Magicians with these resources are encouraged to trade them to their fellows for the mana needed to conduct Conclave business.
Intention
The principle is intended to serve two purposes. It provides effective payment to all the members present (an individual magician might not be interested in the agenda item, but the Conclave becomes richer for every minute it is discussed). More importantly, the high price required to speak strongly encourages speakers to remain terse and on topic but allows them time to speak in proportion to how valuable they consider their message to be.
Critics argue that poor magicians are unable to pay to address the Conclave on business that may still be important. The counter-argument is that other magicians should be happy to provide the mana needed to meet the principle, if the matter is really that important.
Exceptions
When an agenda item is raised, the individual who raises it is able to make a presentation of up to a minute without further charge. Usually in this case, they have already paid one mana to add the item to the agenda, but some Imperial titles have the power to add agenda items without paying. These offices still receive their free minute to make a presentation.
After the presentation for a declaration is complete, the grandmaster of each Conclave order can nominate individuals to speak. Each speaker must pay their mana for each minute.
Abuse
Iñes i Guerra famously said that a magician has only two commodities of value - their mana, and their time - and considered wasting either to be a serious matter. The Principle of Proportions is designed to allow the Conclave to complete their business in good order, but on a few occasions magicians have used the mechanism to try to disrupt a declaration they oppose. Such techniques are legal but they are expensive and are only used with great caution. On occasion in the past, individuals who have abused the Principle of Proportions been declared sorcerers by a disgruntled Conclave.
Further Reading
Core Brief
Additional Information
- Conclave vault
- Key Appointments to the Imperial Conclave